Sacramento Bee (California)
Sacramento, CA — Frustrated by lawsuits that have held up funding for California’s $3 billion stem cell research institute, some of San Francisco’s most prominent philanthropists are holding a gala fundraiser for this state agency on May 22.
A press release for “Reach for Tomorrow, Research Today” says the event will
offer “private scientific briefings” and “private tours” of nearby campuses for donors willing to contribute up to $10,000 per person, or $100,000 per table. The event also offers a VIP reception, a black-tie dinner and appearances by actress Julie Andrews, composer Marvin Hamlisch and others.
Presumably, the event will also draw university deans and biotech executives who want some exclusive face time with institute leaders – public officials who will be deciding on multi-million-dollar grants to universities and biotech companies. At least three of these public officials are helping to organize the event. These include Institute President Zach Hall, Oversight Committee Chairman Robert Klein II and Vice Chairman Ed Penhoet, listed as honorary co-chairs of “Reach for Tomorrow.”
(Details can be found at www.reachfortomorrow.info
What is wrong with this picture? Plenty, if you think that public stewards of taxpayer money should keep at arm’s length from those seeking that money. By agreeing to participate in the fundraiser, Hall, Klein and Penhoet have flunked this test. “It smacks of selling access and influence to well-heeled donors,” said John Simpson of the watchdog group, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.
Some might say this event differs little from those that booster groups hold to raise funds for a University of California engineering school, or the wing of a medical building. There’s a big difference. No UC schools or other state institutes are dispensing $3 billion in state funds. None has that kind of purse.
Indeed, the situation is more analogous to what might happen if Caltrans started seeking private donations to build a new San Francisco Bay Bridge. Funding for the bridge is stymied, so “Friends of Caltrans” hold a gala fundraiser. Out of self interest, bridge contractors rush to buy tickets. Those contributing hope they will get special status when bridge contracts are awarded, and possibly they will.
Clearly, many of the people organizing “Reach for Tomorrow” — as well as many of those buying tickets — have no financial stake in the Institute for Regenerative Medicine. They simply want embryonic stem cell research to succeed. They are upset that lawsuits have blocked the institute from receiving bond money that Californians approved when they voted for Proposition 71.
That’s understandable. What is not understandable is why Hall, Klein and Penhoet aren’t worried about the potential for conflicts. Aren’t they concerned that donors will seek favors? Aren’t they worried about the integrity of their (or, actually, the public’s) enterprise?
Instead of seeking private funds, the institute would be well advised to act like a public agency and seek funding from a public source, such as the Legislature. Of course, if it did that, it might have to play by the same rules as other public agencies.
